Bale of hay or other material.



N0. 69!,954. Patented Jan. 28, I902.

G. A. LDWRY.

BALE 0F HAY OR OTHER MATERIAL.

(Application filed Jan. 10, 1900.)

(no Model.)

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. vNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. LOWRY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE PLANTERS COMPRESS COMPANY, OF BOSTON,

wnsr VIRGINIA.

MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF BALE OF HAY OR OTHER MATERIAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 691,954, dated January 28, 1902 Application filed January 10, 1900. Serial No. 975. (No model.) A

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LOW'RY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illi-. nois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bales of Hay or other Material, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new article of, manufacture or product comprising a bale or package of material in which the air is expressed from between the fibers or particles and between the layers of such particles and in which such fibers or particles are sterilized.

The invention consists substantially in the construction set forth in the accompanying specification, and more particularly pointed out in the succeeding claims.

In the drawings, Figurel illustrates a perspective view of a package of material with the wiresloosened thereon. Fig. 2illustrates a package of material secured and ready for transportation.

For many years it has been endeavored by means of silos and similar contrivances to preserve fodder, hay, and other materials so that they would neither ferment nor be in jured by the growth of molds or other bacteria and so that the natural juices in those varieties of materials which contain'juices would be preserved for a considerable length of time. It is the aim of thepresent invention to achieve the same end orproduce it in the shape of a package or bale which after it is Wired will not require further treatment. I

In carrying out this invention it has been found convenient to use an apparatus such as is set forth in Patent No. 645,728, granted March 20, 1900, the application for which was filed July 27, 1899,with certain modifications, such as reducing the number of slots there shown from eight to four or less and increasing the speed of operation from about fourteen revolutions per minute to about eighteen revolutions per minute.

In producing the article it may be generally stated that every strand or particle of the material is subjected to a high degree of pressure and wthis is effected by operating upon small quantities or layers of such material at a time in which the air is thus practically expressed, and then superposing these layers one upon the other while still under a high pressure so that the air is excluded from between the layers,and the package or bale is thus "built up with practically all the air squeezed therefrom, and, while this squeezing process is being carried on, to subject the particles of material to a high degree of heat, so as to cook the natural juices of such material as contains juices but destroy the bacteria clinging to the material, the degree of l1eat,of course,being varied according to the difference in the material being acted upon and consequent necessities of the situatiou, it having been found that with hay from 160 to 225 Fahrenheit is a sufficient heat to eifectively perform the function desired, and finally to secure such package while still under compression by suitable fastening devices, such as wire ties, which will serve to retain the compression and practically produce an article or product which has not only been freed from air, but is substantially sealed in that condition.

It is evident that a small amount of material may not only be highly compressed more readily than a large amountof such material, but that the heat may be applied to this small amount of material much more readily and effectively and uniformly than to a mass of material.

When a package or bale is produced by this process, the product is an article which is vastly superior to the ordinary compressed package or halo, because it will not sweat, and the growth of molds or ferments and the development of bacteria are practically arrested and prevented, so that the package or bale may be preserved uninjured and in its natural state for a long period of time. It has also been found that the heating of certain food-stuffs for animals, of which one instance is hay, improves the quality of the food by bringingout the aroma ordinarilysuppressed. It is believed that the heat and rubbing of fibers tends to soften them and also to permit the aroma to come to the surface, and thereby make the fodder more appetizing to the animal.-

It has been found that a bale of green fibrous materialsuch as hay, fodder, &c.- or partially-cured fibrous material maybe preserved with its natural juices and put up in the form of the article just described and may be kept for an extended period without deterioration. While bales of green fibrous material constructed in this manner are par-' ticularly improved, yet other materials are also benefited.

It would be of course impossible to state all the varieties of materials which may be put up in-this style of package or bale; but among others may be mentioned the following: green or partially-cured fodder of various kinds,including the varieties of grasses, the many species of clover, alfalfa, vetches, rapes, milletto, the vines or straws of peas, beans, and otherleguminous plants, the straw of various grains, and the fodders made from them when out before maturity, stalks of corn with or without ears, various forms of sorghum, kaffir, broom-corn, sugar-cane, the leaves, pulp, and refuse of beets, turnips, cabbage, and other vegetables, the refuse left from the canning or treatment for commercial use of green vegetables, matt-sprouts, and brewers grains, the hulls and chaff of rice; cotton-seed, and other grains, and various other substances which it may be desired to utilize;

It will be readily understood that many different kinds of apparatus maybe used in producing such a ,bale or package without departing from the principle of the invention and that the form of apparatus described andcla'imed in my previous patent above reiiferred to is merely a preferred form for producing the article herein referred to.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As a new article of manufacture, a package of fibrous food material composed of a continuous, compressed series of superposed, highly-compressed and sterilized layers, and of a means for retaining the layers in the compressed condition and relation, as and forthe purpose set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a package of green fibrous material composed of a series of highly compressed superposed layers, having'the natural juices in the fibers thereof cooked and thereby sterilized and securingdevices for retaining the package in a compressed condition and thus sealing the same; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

1 GEORGE A. LOVVRY. Witnesses:

FRANK T. BROWN, J. F. OSHAUGHNESSY." 

